Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of the study is to examine and summarize studies reporting on the epidemiology, the risk of developing diabetes, and the cardiovascular effects on individuals with diabetes of different levels of alcohol consumption.

Recent Findings

Men consume more alcohol than women in populations with and without diabetes. Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption decreases the incidence of diabetes in the majority of the studies, whereas heavy drinkers and binge drinkers are at increased risk for diabetes. Among people with diabetes, light-to-moderate alcohol consumption reduces risks of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality.

Summary

Alcohol consumption is less common among populations with diabetes compared to the general population. Moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of diabetes and, as in the general population, improves cardiovascular health in patients with diabetes. Type of alcoholic beverage, gender, and body mass index are factors that affect these outcomes.

Notes

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of Interest

Sarit Polsky and Halis K. Akturk declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with animal subjects performed by any of the authors. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance